Attractiveness of commercial food baits to adult fruit flies in apple orchards

Abstract

The apple plant (Malus domestica Borkh.) is the most cultivated species of temperate climate in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Among the pests, fruit flies stand out as the major problem. The monitoring of fruit
flies populations helps the farmer to determine the right moment for fruit treatments. The objective of this research was to evaluate the efficiency and costs of commercial baits to monitor fruit flies in apple orchards located in São Joaquin, SC. The experiment was carried out during the 2007/08 and 2008/09 crop seasons, in randomized blocks
with five repetitions and four treatments. The baits tested were Diúva grape juice (25%), hydrolyzed protein BioAnastrepha® (5%), protein Isca Mosca® (5%) and Torula yeast (2.5%). The baits were put in plastic McPhail traps. Each trap represented a parcel and was filled with 300ml of the attractive solution, which was weekly renewed. The captured flies were collected and transferred to the laboratory for identification. It was possible to observe that at both crop seasons the Anastrepha fraterculus was the predominant species. In the 2007/08 crop season, the hydrolyzed protein BioAnastrepha® (5%) and yeast Torula (2.5%) showed more attractive than Isca Mosca® and grape juice. The
hydrolyzed protein BioAnastrepha® 5% contemplates the efficiency/cost ratio.